Government must educate its citizens on human rights: People
Government must educate its citizens on human rights: People
Dec. 10 is Human Rights Day. The Jakarta Post asked some people
whether they had ever violated others rights or whether their
rights had ever been violated.
Sahala Aritonang, 42, is the secretary of the Jakarta branch
of a political party. He lives with his wife and two children in
Central Jakarta:
The government is reluctant to educate the public on human
rights because it doesn't want people to be aware that their
rights are being infringed upon. Due to that, human rights abuses
are still rampant.
For example, in Jakarta we could see thousands of people's
basic right to shelter violated in the recent string of evictions
conducted by the city administration.
The words "human rights" in the Ministry of Justice and Human
Rights are not attached for nothing. It means the government must
educate its citizens about human rights. The same applies for the
National Commission on Human Rights. If it fails to put an end to
human rights violations, I'd like to see the commission
dissolved.
Yari, 21, is a student at the school of medicine at YARSI
University in Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta. She lives with her
parents, two sisters and one brother in Cipinang, East Jakarta:
Human rights mean freedom but that should not interfere with
other people's freedom. It means being free to work, go to
school, get a decent job and earn a living, as is stipulated in
the Constitution.
I felt my rights were violated when I was in the students'
initiation program (Opspek). The seniors told us, the new
students, to do a lot of silly things all day long. They didn't
beat up girls luckily, just the boys. Oh well, I know it was just
for fun, it was nothing serious.
The military operation in Aceh is a case of human rights
violation. I felt so sorry for students who could not go to
school anymore because their school buildings were burned down.
Sandy, 27, works as a journalist with a daily newspaper in
Central Jakarta. He resides in Kuningan, South Jakarta, with his
wife who is expecting a baby:
I consider the availability of food, water, shelter and
education as the most basic of all human rights.
The concern for human rights issues in Indonesia has improved
since the reform movement in 1998 although some high-level
officials are still free in spite of there being allegations of
rights violations against them.
I also think that societies such as the U.S. or Canada care
more about human rights issues. There is no way that we can
compare the human rights implementation here to those countries
because we are in a different stage of social development.
Foreigners are more ready to consider human rights, given the
social circumstances they are in.
-- The Jakarta Post